By It's been a long old month. From the avant-garde anarchy of London Fashion Week: Men's to the commercial behemoths of Milan and Paris, the Esquire style team has been gleaning the biggest takeaways from menswear's opening ceremony. Here, Style Director Charlie Teasdale clears the rail for your autumn rotation.
The Suit Is Back
Remember when Thierry Henry came back to Arsenal on loan and scored the winner in an FA Cup match against Leeds? Well this is a bit like that, but with lapels.
For the past few seasons, suits have been off the menu, and even the staunchest of orthodox brands took to making ‘ugly’ trainers and graphic hoodies. It’s lazy to blanket everything under the streetwear banner, but it’s true that smarter, tailored clothing has played second fiddle. And when was the last time you saw a cool dude in a tie? This recent clutch suggests that the macro trend for the loudest, lumpiest clothing has plateaued, and the classically structured is back.
The rich suiting at Kris Van Assche’s first Berluti collection was punctuated by monochrome double-breasted suits, and Virgil Abloh opened the Louis Vuitton show with three grey-on-grey suiting looks. In London, Edward Crutchley championed pinstripes, and used soft shouldered, wide-lapelled black suiting to timeless effect. And then in Paris, Hedi Slimane's Celine stated that “traditional tailoring is at the heart of the collection”, and sent boxy jackets, cropped trousers, loafers and skinny ties down his signature rock ‘n’ roll runway. Even Dolce & Gabbana, who over the past few seasons have really ramped up the sportswear maximalism, reverted back to the perfectly cut, statement tailoring fit for a Sicilian billionaire.
We're About To Reach Peak Roll-Neck
Time was, only wind-beaten ski instructors and cat burglars sported thin-gauge roll necks, but everyone – everyone – at the shows was doing it. On the streets of the fashion capitals I saw them peeking out from under hoodies, Oxford shirts, jumbo corduroy blazers, denim jackets (me), shiny quilted coats, crew neck sweaters and even other roll necks (not me).
They were abundant in the collections, too. Some were layered under tailoring and coats, while others were shorter and more technical. And no surprise, because it’s a way to add contrast and cultured detail to an outfit. But my tip would be to go for a zip-up track top instead. For inspiration, look at Gucci’s pre-fall 2019 collection, or the Dunhill show.
The Punk Aesthetic Is Back
The first trend to materialise on day one of London Fashion Week: Men’s was peppered with punk references – some were explicit, some just a nod.
With leopard print, leather and bovver boots, John Lawrence Sullivan channelled punk and hosted a live performance from Wild Daughter. Later in the day, Liam Hodges sent his models down the runway sporting tattered black suits and diamond-hard spiked hair, and Patrick Grant set his show to a soundtrack of blaring post-punk.
Coupled with the bondage vibe at Versace and the petulant-Nineties-teenager-ness of Dsquared2, it looks like rock ‘n’ roll is making a comeback. Insert devil horn finger thing here.
Velvet Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas (Parties)
We first heard the phrase ‘day velvet’ at the Ralph Lauren presentation in Milan. The team explained that the fabric shouldn’t be reserved for black tie events. So they used it in straight tailoring designed to be worn during the day (and styled with a velvet shirt and tie).
Ralph himself is a pioneer of that hybrid look of super smart and casual - he tends to eschew full black-tie for cowboy boots, jeans and a dinner jacket – but other brands shared the same idea. Gucci’s pre-fall collection is packed with velvet, and Dries Van Noten sent an especially mega tie-dye number down his runway in Paris. The knack with a plush velvet jacket will be in the styling – keep everything else subdued and it will look great in the office - but wear it with too many eveningwear-y bits (shiny shoes, frilly shirt, bow tie etc) and you’ll just look like a tit.
Tweed Is In
I think tweed and the Prince of Wales check were the most common threads running through the shows.
Gucci’s brand of preppy-loaded eccentricity has permeated the whole industry, and everyone is offering their take on the trend for kooky, bookish styling. It was present at Marni, Pal Zileri, Loewe, Acne and Sandro to name just a few.
The designers at Drake’s deserve a special mention – they’ve been making collegiate-cool tailoring and shirts for a long time, and their A/W’19 collection was a highlight of the month. They mixed unlined Italian tweed blazers with super bright knitwear and candy stripe shirts and it was/is amazing. But the best investment you can make next autumn will be a big billowy overcoat in a mid brown tweedy check. The best I saw was at Stella McCartney, but there’ll be plenty around come September.
Posh Paint Shades Set To Dominate
Brinjal, Bordeax, eggplant, dark clay; regardless of whatever highfalutin shade it is favoured by Farrow & Ball, it was clear that a shade of deep, reddish purple (maroon? Burgundy? Squash ball bruise?) is set for greatness next autumn.
Ermenegildo Zegna used it in suiting and one stand-out overcoat, Brunello Cucinelli used it heavily in knitwear, and it even popped up in footwear at Grenson.
The second colour of note is deep, dusty shade of green, best demonstrated by Pierre Mahéo’s Officine Generale show in Paris, but also by Berluti, E. Tautz and Oliver Spencer.
And Some Personal Highlights...
Best Show
Alexandre Mattiussi is a deft hand at making directional-but-easy clothing and a master of the sweatshirt. But this show really felt like a step-up. It was rich and elegant and cool and perfectly styled, and I wanted everything. The room in the Théâtre National was sectioned up into runways by a series of floor-to-ceiling curtains, and at the end of the show, they slid away, allowing light and the most incredible view of the Eiffel Tower to pour in through the windows. It was mega, and trés Parisien.
Best Soundtrack
Possibly Loewe, courtesy of an RY X remix of Rihanna’s Love on the Brain, and possibly the electro-punk score by Crack Cloud at Celine. But the winner has to be the live performance by Dev Hynes at the Louis Vuitton show. It buoyed the mood of the room and offered the perfect sonic backdrop for Virgil Abloh’s Michael Jackson-inspired collection.
Best Front Row
LV, again. Timothée Chalumet, Frank Ocean, Skepta, Juergen Teller, Naomi Campbell and Offset from Migos huffing on a very big spliff throughout.
Biggest Surprise
Daniel W Fletcher. A Cold Wall and Craig Green were getting all the hype before the London shows, but Fletcher’s collection was elegant, masculine and nuanced – by far my favourite of the London stable.
